Review - Delirium: The Special Edition by Lauren Oliver

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc. (August 2011)
Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Dystopia, Fantasy
Format: Kindle: Special Edition
Source: Purchased

Goodreads Summary
Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -- the deliria -- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the government demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.

Initial Impressions

I was looking for something to read after The Hunger Games that was thought-provoking and inspired discussions among readers because of varying opinions of the subject matter. When I read the synopsis for this book, I knew I wanted to give it a shot.

The Summary

Lena Holoway has had a life filled with pain and is looking forward to the day when it will be taken away for good...the day of her procedure. The procedure will rid her of the amor deliria nervosa and will leave her future safe, happy, and healthy. When her best friend Hana starts behaving strangely, it throws Lena off balance and she answers all the questions that she knows the right answer to in the wrong way during her evaluation. Afterwards, Lena's life takes a turn that is decidedly different than the one she imagined.

The Good

The whole concept for this book is something new and wonderful and had me constantly asking myself how I would act in the same situation. Love as something evil, a disease to be eradicated, seems like it would be hard to make believable, but Lauren Oliver does the job. You truly follow the rational thinking of the characters and how they come to their conclusions. The main character, who often calls herself 'in-between', is an every girl who becomes the book's heroine through choices and actions. Conflict and hope in equal measure make for an excellent reading experience.

The Bad

The only drawback was that the beginning was a little slow, but you know that it's to provide you with necessary information to hook you into the story. Although slow, I found the background information extremely relevant and interesting.

The Romance

This is a YA series, but there are situations implied. Even though this is a story about love being a disease, there are circumstances of love presenting itself. The love of a mother for her child, the love of a cousin for their cousin, the love of best friends, and other examples are found in the book.  Every type of love mentioned in these pages is like finding a treasure.

Conclusion

I immensely enjoyed reading this book, and by the end immediately wanted to dive into the next one. I am already hooked and will be reading the 2nd in the series, Pandemonium.

I would recommend this book to YA readers that like Science Fiction and Dystopia.

Excerpts

"It has been sixty-four years since the president and the Consortium identified love as a disease, and forty-three since the scientists perfected a cure."

"Many people are afraid of the procedure. Some people even resist. But I'm not afraid. I can't wait."

"The deadliest of all deadly things. It kills you when you have it and when you don't."

"It's so strange how life works: You want something and you wait and wait and feel like it's taking forever to come. Then it happens and it's over and all you want to do is curl back up in that moment before things changed."

"Snapshots, moments, mere seconds: as fragile and beautiful and hopeless as a single butterfly  flapping on against a gathering wind."